10 SPIT Vendors to Watch in 2015

5. Matrixx Software Matrixx Software Inc. has a sweet spot that in many ways is right at the heart of SPIT -- it has developed a platform for real-time transactions, and a suite of applications (online charging, policy management, pricing analytics) that is, in the company's own words, "fit-for-purpose for where communications service providers are going, rather than where they have been." The company raised new funding in 2014, with Swisscom and Telstra Ventures among its backers. The value of the round was not disclosed but Light Reading believes it was in excess of $13 million. Expect to see that funding pay off in 2015 with greater interest from telcos and potential buyers.

6. NetCracker
The coming year needs to be as much about how Netcracker Technology Corp. can help its parent company, NEC Corp. (Tokyo: 6701), make real international headway as about how NetCracker can prove itself as a SPIT company that's ready to meet the demands of network operators that are introducing NFV and SDN into their networks. NetCracker has made significant progress with major communications service providers in 2014, and there's every reason to believe it can continue to do so in 2015, and that it will be good enough on its own to keep the company in the spotlight. But there's a real opportunity for NEC, one of the early movers in the SDN market, to bring a combined SDN/NFV/MANO proposition to the global market, using NetCracker for the next generation OSS proposition. The question is: does NEC have the will and the wherewithal to do that?

7. NetScout Systems NetScout Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCT) has long been a major network monitoring and analytics systems provider but it signaled its intention to become an even bigger SPIT player earlier this year by announcing an all-stock bid valued at $2.6 billion for Danaher's Communications unit, which includes Tektronix Communications (network probes, customer experience management, analytics) and security systems specialist Arbor Networks . That deal should close in 2015, after which NetScout will be able to put the meat on the bones of its new strategy. Also in 2015, the bell should sound on the next round of the legal fight between the vendor and Gartner Inc. .

8. Ontology Systems
With more and more data flowing across communications networks, CSPs need greater (and more insightful) visibility into what's going on with those networks. That need will become even greater, and the task harder, with the introduction of virtualized network elements. That's been the focus of Ontology Systems , which has developed a system designed to deliver an accurate view of network resources to operations teams. Ontology might not be the best known name in the industry but our gut feeling is that it's going to attract more attention in 2015.

9. Oracle
What will Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) do in 2015? It's already hard at work in the OpenDaylight SDN controller group and has been developing its NFV strategy. It also acquired field management OSS specialist TOA Technologies. Yet we expected more from Oracle's Communications division in 2014 after it splashed its cash to acquire signaling and policy control specialist Tekelec and IP infrastructure (session border controller) market leader Acme Packet the year before. It's not that 2014 was the year Oracle crawled into its shell, but… Let's just say we're expecting bigger things in the comms space from Oracle in 2015.

10. UBIqube Solutions
It took a few years for French SPIT vendor UBiqube Plc to find its niche, its role, but then the virtualization wave hit the telecom sector and everything fell into place for a company that has spent most of its time and resources on developing its technology and building customer relationships rather than shouting about them. But with management and orchestration about to be a huge topic in the coming year, and with UBIqube having developed an SDN orchestration system designed to manage hybrid networks that comprise physical and virtual elements, we're expecting to hear a lot more from this company in the coming year -- word in the market is that it has some major telco names to add to its customer list.

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Understanding the full experience of women in technology requires starting at the collegiate level (or sooner) and studying the technologies women are involved with, company cultures they're part of and personal experiences of individuals.

During this WiC radio show, we will talk with Nicole Engelbert, the director of Research & Analysis for Ovum Technology and a 23-year telecom industry veteran, about her experiences and perspectives on women in tech. Engelbert covers infrastructure, applications and industries for Ovum, but she is also involved in the research firm's higher education team and has helped colleges and universities globally leverage technology as a strategy for improving recruitment, retention and graduation performance.

She will share her unique insight into the collegiate level, where women pursuing engineering and STEM-related degrees is dwindling. Engelbert will also reveal new, original Ovum research on the topics of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, security and augmented reality, as well as discuss what each of those technologies might mean for women in our field. As always, we'll also leave plenty of time to answer all your questions live on the air and chat board.